Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-02-19
ITEMS FOR coFFEE-DRlNKeRs.
The Different Varieties OF oofFee-How
the beverage should BE Prepared.

Inc Dluerent Varieties OF C0nee-HoW
the beverage should BE Prepared.
According TO recent statement there
are over 600 grades OF coffee on the mar
ket which might lead many to believe
that there are as many different species
OF the plant, which is not true, however,
for there are but few of these and one
only e., the coffea arabica-from
which the genuine article 10 obtained;
consequently the grading must be arbi-
trary or dependent upon individual ca
price. The true grading and price of
the cmmodity result from the treatment
the coffee berries receive after they have
been CLEANED, which varies according to
the locality of growth. In Brazil and
the West Indies as fast as the fruit
ripens it is gathered, placed on mats or
floors adapted to the purpose, exposed
to the sun and frequently stirred to ex-
pedite the drying process. When dry
enough the berries are passed through
heavy rollers, which remove the tough
outside membrane and pulp that en-
closed the beans. The latter are then
carefully winnowed, sorted, put into
bags and are ready for market. The
varieties of coffee chiefly distinguished
in commerce are the Mocha, from Arabia,
esteemed the best on account of its
being richest in caffeine, the alkaloid to
which coffee owes its popularity. The
Mocha grains are easily recognized by
their comparative smallness, gray, in
clining to greenish color. The Java, or
East India coffee, has large, yellow beans.
Jamaica coffee beans are of a greenish
cast, smaller than the Java, but larger
than the Mocha. Surinam has the larg-
est sized bean of all, whilst the Bourbon
has medium size, pale yellowish. inclined
to whitish, beans. Liberia, Laguayra
and other kinds have no distinguishing
features to entitle them to especial no
tice here.
The fruit of the coffee tree is red
berry resembling cherry, having a
pale, insipid, glutinous pulp, inclosing
two hard, oval seeds, which we term
grains" Each of these is about the
size of an ordinary bean, and covered
with tough, cartliaginous membrane
called the parchment
Orientals do not prepare coffee for
drinking purposes as We do. Arabs
make it from the unroasted beans. The
sultan of Turkey, formerly, if not now,
has beverage made out of the dried
pulp and pericarp for his own use, while
some of his subjects prepare decoction
| from the dried leaves of the coffee tree.
For this purpose the leaves are prepared
by process similar to that for tea
leaves, and great many suppose thai
the leaves so treated contain larger
proportion of caffeine than the beans.
Roasted to reddish brown color cof-
fee loses 10 per cent. by weighing and
gains in bulk 80 per cent If the pro-
cess of roasting is continued until the
coffee assumes chestnut brown, 90 per
cent. by weight is lost and 80 per cent
in bulk gained. Roasted to a dark
brown it loses 30 per cent. by weight
and increases go per cent. in bulk. The
roasting of coffee in some manner deve.-
ops volatile oil in the grain to the ex.
tent of about one part in fifty that is not
present in the raw state, to which it
owes its delightful aroma. If the roast
ing is protracted beyond light brown
color this delicious odor is jeoapardized,
if not entirely destroyed. Coffee keeps
best in the green state: the older and
drier the grain unroasted the better, it is
said, is the coffee when it is roasted.
Fortunately for mankind, coffee is a
wholesome and harmless beverage AID
rarely leaves any unpleasant effects be-
hind, even when INDUCED in to excess.
1t is eminently the cup that cheers and
does not inebriate.
Independently, coffee is great con-
servator of the tissues; it prevents waste
of the body, allays thirst, hunger, and,
as above intimated, cheers the mind but
does not intoxicate the brain, while the
aromatic oil it contains has gentle
aperient effect upon the bowels. Foi
this latter purpose it is best taken soon
after rising in the morning. about the
strength of two tablespoonfuls of finely
ground coffee to pint of boiling water,
drank five minutes after mixing.
Regarding the toxic properties (so
called) of coffee little need be said. Only
lower animals have exhibited any great
sensitiveness in this respect, and then
not until after very large doses of the
alkaloid, caffeine, had been administered
to them, which, when given to man in
the same quantities, caused but little
temporary nervous disturbance. tt
effects, like medicine generally, depend
very much upon the constitution, tenn
permanent and idiosyncrasy of the indi
vidual using it.
To extract all the good qualities Of
coffee, says Professor Donovan in The
Dublin Physiological Journal, 1926 the
fresh, Underground coffee requires two
separate and somewhat opposite method:
of treatment On the one hand tht
flavor is lost by boiling, while ON the
other it is necessary to subject it to thai
degree of heat in order to extract it,
medical quality. These difficulties are
overcome by dividing the water to b
used in the making into two equal parts
With one Of these the coffee must bt
mixed cold and placed on the fire unit
on the eve of boiling, when it is taker